Patients are now able to book a face to face appointment with some GPs by speaking to a member of the reception team.  Patients may also book a pre-bookable telephone appointment. These appointment are always subject to availability.  

Patients are able to book a routine telephone appointment in advance. However, if you feel you are unable to wait until the next available appointment you may submit a same day request. All requests for same day appointments should be made by telephone as early as possible after 8.00 am. It is now possible to hold your place in the telephone queue to avoid you hanging on during busy times.

You will be asked by the Receptionist to give a brief reason for the request. This is very important for the receptionist to obtain this information to be able to ensure that you are signposted to the appropriate clinician or service. Calls will be dealt with by either our Advanced Nurse Practitioner or a GP. Our Advanced Nurse Practitioner can deal with an extensive range of minor illness conditions (see Minor Illness information) and will try to deal with your problem. If after speaking to you, it is necessary for you to be seen by a health care professional, we will make arrangements for you to be seen at a mutually convenient time.

We have introduced an automated booking system. The system provides patients with an alternative option for booking a same day telephone appointment, checking or cancelling an existing appointment or requesting a repeat prescription. We are hopeful that this will improve access for patients who need to contact us for a same day telephone appointment but are unable to call at 8.00 am. A number of same day appointments are available to book between 6.00 am and 7.59 am Monday to Friday. Once all appointments are full but a same day appointment is required, patients will be returned to the main menu to select Option 2 to speak to a member of the reception team.

The automated system is not presently available for the booking of same day appointments after 8.00 am

Patients can access the automated system by pressing Option 1 on our telephone system. Patients using the system are advised to listen to instructions carefully and not to hang up until the system confirms that your appointment has been booked. During the call you will be asked to leave a short message for the clinician to explain the reason for the request. Please keep the message brief. Messages can only be retrieved for confirmed appointments. Therefore, if the system does not confirm that your appointment has been booked, your message cannot be accessed by our staff. Patients wishing to request their repeat prescription via the automated system will need to obtain a PIN number from Reception or Dispensary.

Patients may continue to book appointments with our reception team by selecting Option 2 on the telephone system. Once we are happy that the system is working correctly, we will look at expanding the automated booking system to provide an alternative option for the booking of other appointments (eg blood tests, Flu). We welcome feedback from patients who have used this system.

From Monday 4th July 2022 we are increasing the number of appointments that are available to book via the automated option on Mondays. We will also release a number of same day telephone appointments that can be booked on line between 6.00 am to 7.59 am on Mondays. Please be aware that the system will offer you an  on line appointment slot before 8.00 am. However, this is not the time of your telephone appointment. A clinician will call you AFTER 8.00 a.m.

We are hopeful that this will improve access for patients and ease the pressure on our telephone system after 8.00 am.

Patients should be aware that the morning telephone list may be closed early due to high patient demand and at the discretion of the duty doctor. Patients are therefore advised to contact the surgery as early as possible. The practice also request that you disclose as much information as possible to the receptionist regarding your symptoms. This is purely so that you are booked with the appropriate clinician. The clinician will then be able to prioritise your call depending on your symptoms. If the telephone list is full when you call, you may be asked to attend a local Pharmacist or a local walk in centre. A list of alternative urgent care services including local walk in centres is available from reception and on this website. Information is also available on the appropriate use of Accident and Emergency Departments.

Telephone consultations are now offered routinely by all of the doctors at the practice. Telephone appointments are appropriate for:

• Test Results
• Medication Queries

Follow up care or when it is anticipated that an examination is not required and your query can be dealt with over the telephone

We are increasing the number of appointments available for you to see a GP in the early mornings, evenings or at weekends across West Leicestershire.

Depending on your individual circumstances and symptoms, we may offer you an ‘extended access’ appointment. Please note however, that these appointments will not be in your usual GP practice and may not be with one of your usual GPs or nurses.

Depending on the reason for your appointment, and if you are in agreement, it may be suitable for you to see an Advanced Nurse Practitioner, instead of a GP.

The clinician you see will be able to access relevant sections of your medical notes and will communicate what has happened during your appointment back to your usual GP practice.

These appointments will be available at the following locations:

• Loughborough Urgent Care Centre at Loughborough Community Hospital
• Coalville Community Hospital
• Hinckley and Bosworth Community Hospital

Please note: These appointments are not directly bookable by patients.

Home visits are only for those patients whose illness is such that they cannot possibly come to the surgery. Please see the Leicestershire Local Medical Committee’s guidance that defines appropriate/inappropriate requests. Should a house call be required, please contact the surgery before 10.00 a.m. and request the visit.  The doctor will use his/her discretion as to when he/she will call depending on the workload on that day. In the case of an urgent house call, telephone the surgery and explain the situation to the receptionist who will contact the doctor immediately.

It is important that you inform the reception staff if you are unable to attend your appointment, this will allow that appointment to be offered to another patient. If you fail to notify the Practice that you are unable to attend, you will be sent a letter informing you that you have defaulted from your appointment. Persistent defaulters maybe removed from the list.

We have a texting service which allows you to receive confirmation and reminders about your appointments.

To have this service you will need to register by completing a consent form.

Please remember to update your contact details with us when you change address, telephone numbers and email address.